Thirty percent corporate computers are not swtiched off at night. Or so says a study from 1E, a power management software company.

And the cost of that over-night computing? 14.4 million metric tons of CO2 and $1.72 Billion.

Now, we should keep in mind that this study was done by a company trying to sell power management software, but these numbers are real, and so is the problem. Though, I will say that, in most places in America, there is excess power being produced at night anyhow, so saying that this resulted in an increase in greenhouse gasses is ultimately incorrect.

However, it has resulted in an almost 2 billion dollar gift to the fossil fuel-based power generation industry.

People see shutting down the PCs, or even putting them into sleep mode, as simply too much trouble. This was something that Vista was supposed to tackle, but it unclear what kind of impact Vista’s new power management features have had.

Of course, 1E also calculated the massive energy savings that could be achieved by installing their software…Up to $75 per PC. We wish that people weren’t so lazy, and that they could hibernate their own machines, but if it takes proprietary power management software to get companies to stop wasting all this energy, then I’m behind 1E in their efforts.

And if you want to save that $75 with some free software, check out CO2Saver.